Cornet: I Can't Believe It
ESPN.com news services
LONDON -- No. 18 will just have to wait.
Five-time champion Serena Williams lost to 25th-seeded Alize Cornet of France 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of Wimbledon on Saturday.
It's Williams' earliest exit at the All England Club since 2005, when she also was beaten in the third round.
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The No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded Williams owns 17 Grand Slam titles, but she now has departed before the quarterfinals at four of the past five major tournaments. That includes a fourth-round loss at the Australian Open in January, and a second-round loss at the French Open in May.
But of Williams' five total losses in all tournaments this season, two have come against Cornet, who also beat the American at the Dubai Championships in February.
Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova won the last 11 games to reach the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over 44th-ranked Alison Riske of the United States.
Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion and winner of the French Open earlier this month, was broken in the first game of the match, fell behind 3-1 then shut out Riske the rest of the way, clinching the match with a stinging forehand passing shot.
'I felt better as the match went on,' said Sharapova, who lost in the second round at Wimbledon last year. 'Alison's a great grass-court player. She's had some of her best results on this surface, so I knew that it was going to be a challenge today. I had a little bit of a slow start.
'I'm just happy to be in the second week after last year's result. I wasn't satisfied. I was looking forward to coming back very soon and here I am, giving myself another chance.'
Saturday's match was played with the roof closed on Centre Court, while rain held up play on the outside courts.
Sunday is a scheduled off-day at Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam tournament that takes a break midway through.
newsandtalking.blogspot.com contributed to this report.
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